Zach Epstein '18

As a member of The Guardian newspaper staff, I was one of a dozen Green Knights fortunate enough to spend a day at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, CT. The day was arranged by producer Tim Sullivan '90, and it gave me a vision for my future.

We first congregated in a SportsCenter conference room to meet with several staff members including anchors Zubin Mehenti and Dianna Russini. We weren't seen as high school kids who liked to write; we were the future of journalism. What did we think of Barstool? Was ESPN still cool to watch? They wanted to know what we thought.

We later toured the facility, and I watched my idols at work, in the studio that continues to revolutionize sports media. It was every bit as cool as you'd think. We stood behind the glass, and I saw it. I saw the camera angled right at us, the same camera that shoots athletes and reporters every day. I saw myself there one day in front of that camera.

The common denominator among every person at ESPN was humble beginnings. No one was handed the opportunity; they worked for it. I hope The Guardian is just that humble beginning for me.

Epstein is the Editor-in-Chief of The Guardian.